SEO vs GEO vs AEO: What’s the Difference?

If you’ve worked in digital marketing for any length of time, you’ll know one thing for sure: search is evolving fast.

It’s no longer just about keywords and backlinks. With conversational queries, entity-driven results and AI-powered search tools reshaping how people discover information, traditional SEO alone is no longer enough.

That’s where GEO and AEO come in - new layers of optimisation designed for the era of generative search and AI assistants.

Let’s break it down.

What is SEO?

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the backbone of online visibility. It’s how search engines understand, rank, and deliver your content to users.

It typically covers three main areas:

• On-page SEO – Optimising content, metadata, and headings for relevance and clarity.
• Off-page SEO – Building trust signals through backlinks, digital PR, and brand mentions.‍
• Technical SEO – Making sure your site performs smoothly, loads fast, and can be crawled effectively.

In short, SEO builds your site’s authority and ensures it’s visible in the first place.

What is GEO?

GEO, or Generative Engine Optimisation, is the practice of optimising your content so it appears in AI-driven search experiences, such as:

• Google Search Generative Experience (SGE)
• Microsoft Copilot responses
• Perplexity Answers
• ChatGPT search-style outputs
• AI assistants that summarise the web

Instead of ranking links, generative engines create summarised, conversational responses. GEO is about ensuring your brand appears in those answers.

GEO focuses on:

• Creating content that AI models can easily interpret, cite, or summarise
• Providing clear, fact-based, structured information
• Building strong entity relationships so AI systems trust your brand
• Using clean, accessible formatting (tables, bullets, definitions, FAQs)
• Publishing authoritative content that aligns with EEAT principles

Why does it matter?

Because users increasingly rely on conversational AI tools to get answers, not just browse links.

If SEO helps you rank, GEO helps you get included in the answers themselves.

What is AEO?

AEO, short for Answer Engine Optimisation, represents the next wave of search.

As AI and voice assistants become more common, users aren’t just typing queries; they’re asking questions. AEO focuses on ensuring your brand provides the right answer.

You’ve seen this in action through:

• Featured snippets (“position zero” answers)
• Voice search results (“Hey Google, what’s the best café near me?”)
• Knowledge panels and entity-rich results

AEO is built around understanding intent, entities, and semantics, helping search engines recognise your brand as the best and most authoritative answer.

How They Work Together

Each approach serves a slightly different purpose, but they’re most powerful when combined.

• SEO builds authority and visibility in traditional organic listings.
• GEO ensures your brand appears inside AI-generated search responses.
• AEO positions your content as the best answer for question-led or conversational queries.

For example:

A national brand could use:

• SEO to rank for “buy office furniture online,”
• AEO to win snippets like “what is the best ergonomic chair?”
• GEO to appear inside Google SGE or ChatGPT summaries recommending ergonomic chairs.

Together, these strategies create a complete search ecosystem, one that meets users wherever they are.

Choosing the Right Focus

Your starting point depends on your goals:

• Brands wanting visibility in AI search – Focus on GEO with strong entity-building.
• Businesses targeting question-led or voice queries – AEO becomes essential.
• Brands competing nationally or globally – SEO remains the foundation, with GEO and AEO layered on top.
• Smaller brands with limited budgets – Start with SEO, then introduce AEO and GEO as your content matures.

Tactical Tips

If you’re ready to put this into action, here’s how:

For GEO:

• Create content with high factual clarity
• Use clean structures (tables, lists, definitions)
• Strengthen entity-based content and internal linking
• Provide concise, quotable statements that AI engines can summarise
• Add supporting statistics, sources, and expert commentary

For AEO:

• Implement structured data (Schema.org, JSON-LD)
• Create FAQ sections and answer-based content
• Build entity-driven topic clusters
• Strengthen internal linking between related pages

Measure performance not just by rankings, but by:

• Local visibility
• Featured snippet wins
• Entity presence in results
• Voice search traffic

Challenges and the Road Ahead

A few things to keep in mind:

• GEO is still emerging, and generative engines evolve rapidly.
• AEO and GEO are extensions of SEO, not replacements.
• AI citation behaviour varies - some engines cite sources, others summarise without attribution.
• Standard reporting tools for AI visibility are still developing.

As AI becomes the backbone of search, optimisation will shift from ranking pages to shaping how AI systems interpret and present your brand.

By 2026, the best search strategies won’t just rank, they’ll answer.

SEO, GEO, and AEO aren’t competing strategies - they’re complementary.

• SEO improves visibility in traditional search.
• AEO positions you as the best, most precise answer.
• GEO ensures you appear inside AI-driven summaries and generative responses.

Brands that invest early in all three will stay ahead - visible not just on search pages, but in the answers people rely on.

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FAQs

1. What’s the difference between SEO, GEO, and AEO?

SEO builds visibility. GEO focuses on optimising for AI-generated answers. AEO ensures you deliver the best, most concise responses for question-based queries.

2. Is AEO or GEO replacing SEO?

No. They enhance SEO. SEO gets you visible - GEO and AEO get you included in answers.

3. Do small businesses need GEO and AEO?

Yes. AEO helps you win quick-answer opportunities, while GEO future-proofs your brand for AI-driven search engines.